Review: Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt
Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt by Arthur C. Brooks
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Arthur Brooks writes a much-needed and
accessible book for the individual seeking to be part of the solution to
the canyons of mutual disregard that divide us, canyons widened by and
for the powerful in media, politics, and anger.
I
recommend it heartily. Brooks is a business conservative, a religious
man, a humanist, and a rebel. In sum, he is a man in full who takes his
own medicine.
He offers the following:
How each person can help make national healing happen:
1. Find a friendship with someone you can have productive, respectful disagreements.
2. “Don’t attack or insult. Don’t even try to win.”
3. “Never assume the motives of another person.”
4. “Use your values as a gift, not a weapon.”
P. 185-199
Five rules to subvert the culture of contempt:
1.
”Stand up to the Man. Refuse to be used by the powerful…. [B]e the
person who gently defends those who aren’t represented, even if you
disagree with them.”
2. “Escape the bubble. Go where you’re not invited, and say things people don’t expect.” Seek common ground. Tell your story.
3. “Say no to contempt. Treat others with love and respect, even when it’s difficult.”
4. “Disagree better. Be part of a healthy competition of ideas.”
5.
“Tune out: Disconnect more from the unproductive debates….Obliterate
your silos by listening, reading, and watching media on the ‘other
side.’ Get rid of your curated social media feeds….Resolve to pay
attention to ideas, not just politics.” P. 201-212
